This group explores the intersection of the data revolution and the art of creating value. Bring your inner data scientist and learn how people are not only doing cool things with data, but doing so in ways that help startups, businesses, and other organizations thrive.

While we will always have industrial, academic, and government luminaries as speakers, this meetup will not just be about lectures and free pizza (or empanadas as we secure sponsors). Simply put, we are building a world-leading data community in the heart of the nation's capital. We are not reinventing Silicon Valley or New York, we are blazing a new trail forward.

Sean, with degrees in mathematics, electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering and an MBA from Oxford University, has served as a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory for the past ten years. Previously, he served as the Chief Data Scientist at WiserTogether, a series A funded health care analytics firm, and the Director of Research at Manhattan Prep, a boutique graduate educational company. He was also the co-founder and CEO of a big data-focused startup: CloudSpree.

Robert is currently a researcher, teacher and PhD candidate at the University of Maryland. He studies online startup communities and the media's influence on entrepreneurship. In his prior life his worked for startups in both the food and animation industries. He helped startups understand their financial data better as well as connect that data with the rest of their systems. He's a fan of automation and a hater of paper. He also worked with New Ventures helping social and environmental entrepreneurs from developing countries find access to financing and markets. When he's not working, he's biking, rock climbing, and trying to eat the best food he can get his hands on.

Sara Handel is the Business Intelligence Lead at Excella Consulting (www.excella.com). Sara uses her UVA systems engineering education along with expertise in BI to help clients find ways to maximize their systems' data capabilities.Saraloves working on projects that transform data into clear, meaningful information that can help business leaders shape their strategies and make better decisions. Previously, she worked for other consulting companies, gaining valuable experience on how to (and NOT to) use data.

Ben is an experienced Data Scientist and Python developer who has worked in military, industry, and academia for the past eight years. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Computer Science at The University of Maryland, College Park, doing research in Metacognition and Active Logic. He is also a Data Scientist at Cobrain Company in Bethesda, MD where he builds data products including recommender systems and classifier models. He holds a Masters degree from North Dakota State University where he taught undergraduate Computer Science courses. He is also adjunct faculty at Georgetown University where he teaches Data Science and Analytics.